Past Present: Olivier Lapidus Renews His Father’s Legacy

Olivier Lapidus has vivid memories of his father’s Parisian atelier during its heyday. He was cutting tweed at the age of three, and remembers rummaging through the stacks of briefcases his father used to collect. There’s an attaché with metallic edges that sticks out in his mind. It’s the one that inspired the hugely popular four-cornered sunglasses that Ted Lapidus launched in 1970. “I think that style is still being copied up until this day,” he says with a knowing smile. Lapidus senior died in 2008 at the age of 79, and talked about reviving the business in his last years. Now in its third season, Lapidus Vintage is his son’s way of continuing that train of thought. And although he certainly called on the archives of the house to launch the line, it’s more about reimagining a future for the brand rather than simply rehashing the past. “After my father passed away, I kept thinking to myself, What do I do with 50 years worth of fashion?”

To unravel that conundrum, he’s started looking at the Lapidus golden years, namely the late sixties and early seventies when his mother was hosting parties at their home for the likes of Brigitte Bardot and Roman Polanski. Lapidus was known for working with fabrics more traditionally associated with menswear, and outerwear in his fall 2011 collection is undeniably the designer’s strong suit. What looks like a classically cut double-breasted coat at first glance is constructed with a decidedly modern circular technique on closer inspection. “There are actually 56 parts to this one,” he says proudly. To bring the story full circle he’s peppered jackets with gold-trimmed square buttons reminiscent of the iconic glasses his father used to make. Other subtle but significant reworkings include gently inset shoulder padding and a clever revision of the kimono sleeve.

As Lapidus walks through his newest looks, you can’t help but notice the huge poster of John Lennon and Yoko Ono overlooking the showroom. The white blazer that Lennon is wearing in the photo is one his dad designed, says Lapidus: It’s the same piece that appears on the album art of Abbey Road. Lennon and Lapidus had discussed opening a store together in London, but sadly the project didn’t go anywhere. “John wanted to call it The Apple Store, after their record label,” he says. “Imagine that?” Steve Jobs might not have the last—or first—word in forward-thinking innovation after all.